Sunday, December 14, 2008

Two Flicks in One Day

Well, I just watched The Day the Earth Stood Still at SM was a bit surprised for the new rate - 80 pesos for a regular movie and 85 pesos for a blockbuster movie. WTH. But anyhow, it was really great. Also, we bought a DVD copy of Wall E, one of Pixar's greatest animated movie of all time, next to Finding Nemo and Toy Story.

These are my reviews for the two movies.

The Day The Earth Stood StillCategory: MoviesGenre: Science Fiction and Fantasy

This is my favorite sci-fi movie this year. A remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth, director Scott Derrickson leads us to the present day Earth with an impending alien invasion. Nope, it’s not an ordinary alien invasion, where extraterrestrial beings will just fire those civilians and destroy the human race; it’s the other way around! Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) was sent to Earth from a nearby planet to warn the humanity of a looming attack of his own kind, an attack that actually saves planet Earth from the destructions brought about by human activities in a way that made the world’s biodiversity to be at stake. There is nothing that humans can do except to endure the consequences. The invasion is actually helping the other living organisms and preserves them for future. Likewise, Astrobiologist Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) together with his son Jacob Benson (Jaden Smith) embarks on an adventure with Klaatu (Reeves) that would make their lives change.

The acting was good and effective, as well as the visual and sound effects and the musical score of the movie. This flick is a unique one since the invasion has a good reason behind it. It only shows that humans are already unaware with its environment yet we’re still not ready to face the consequences due to our recklessness in our environment. I also liked this movie since it encompasses the reality of life – there are some things that are truly impossible. Life is always fair but with have to face such series of predicaments in life. Humans are unwary for their demise in the near future.

Movie houses are becoming more expensive (80 pesos) and I even lost my handkerchief inside the movie house. But that’s okay, the splendor of the movie compensates the money and the lost hanky. Hahahaha.

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Wall ECategory: MoviesGenre: Animation

This is the finest Pixar’s animated movie since Finding Nemo and Toy Story. The story is set for more than 800 years from our time and concentrates with the main character, Wall E, a cleaning robot that does nothing but to gather chunks of debris and clunks it to a cube. Humans at this time are confined in Axiom, an artificial environment in the outer space where people’s lifestyles are very dependent in to robots. Then one day, they send a robot, Eve to search for a plant which is a significant sign that the Earth is already sustainable and livable.

The animated movie was skillfully done and it was really touching. I didn’t know that robots have feelings too. I know it sounds ridiculous, but apparently what the movie wants to convey us is simple yet profound: One reserve a right to start right from the scratch. Even on top of the action, the emotion, the visuals and the humor, Wall-E goes the extra mile into thought-provoking thematic territory. The robotic lines are quite vague, but I guess it was done in purpose to add the sense of mystery, helplessness and alienation that most of the characters in the movie feel to some degree. Most of the humans in Wall-E aren't as developed as the robots, but I think that's because they subsist more to embody the whole of humankind rather than particular persons.

The love between Eve and Wall E was strikingly amazing. I mean, even if they’re robots, I was touched by their simple yet unconditional love. Wall-E and Eve share moments together of real cinematic splendor, true joviality, startling melancholy, maddening obscurity and pleasant contentment. It is a testament to the level of brilliance at which the Pixar storytellers are operating that we feel every beat of this relationship reverberate every step of the way despite the fact that the characters are robots and are not modeled off from humans and speak no more than a handful of words throughout the movie.